Reusable effluent drain container with key feature for dialysis and other medical fluid therapies

ABSTRACT

A dialysis system includes a source of effluent dialysis fluid, a drain container configured to receive the effluent dialysis fluid through a drain tube, and a load cell. The drain container includes an at least semi-rigid body defining a first key feature. The load cell includes a second, mating key feature positioned and arranged to mate with the first key feature.

PRIORITY

This application claims priority to and the benefit as a continuationapplication of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/016,769, filed Jan.18, 2008, entitled, “Reusable Effluent Drain Container for Dialysis andOther Medical Fluid Therapies”, the entire contents of which isincorporated herein by reference and relied upon.

BACKGROUND

The examples discussed below relate generally to medical fluid delivery.More particularly, the examples disclose systems, methods andapparatuses for dialysis such as hemodialysis (“HD”) and automatedperitoneal dialysis (“APD”).

Due to various causes, a person's renal system can fail. Renal failureproduces several physiological derangements. The balance of water,minerals and the excretion of daily metabolic load is no longer possibleand toxic end products of nitrogen metabolism (urea, creatinine, uricacid, and others) can accumulate in blood and tissue.

Kidney failure and reduced kidney function have been treated withdialysis. Dialysis removes waste, toxins and excess water from the bodythat normal functioning kidneys would otherwise remove. Dialysistreatment for replacement of kidney functions is critical to many peoplebecause the treatment is life saving.

One type of kidney failure therapy is peritoneal dialysis, which infusesa dialysis solution, also called dialysate, into a patient's peritonealcavity via a catheter. The dialysate contacts the peritoneal membrane ofthe peritoneal cavity. Waste, toxins and excess water pass from thepatient's bloodstream, through the peritoneal membrane and into thedialysate due to diffusion and osmosis, i.e., an osmotic gradient occursacross the membrane. The spent dialysate is drained from the patient,removing waste, toxins and excess water from the patient. This cycle isrepeated.

There are various types of peritoneal dialysis therapies, includingcontinuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (“CAPD”), automated peritonealdialysis (“APD”), tidal flow dialysis and continuous flow peritonealdialysis (“CFPD”). CAPD is a manual dialysis treatment. Here, thepatient manually connects an implanted catheter to a drain, allowingspent dialysate fluid to drain from the peritoneal cavity. The patientthen connects the catheter to a bag of fresh dialysate, infusing freshdialysate through the catheter and into the patient. The patientdisconnects the catheter from the fresh dialysate bag and allows thedialysate to dwell within the peritoneal cavity, wherein the transfer ofwaste, toxins and excess water takes place. After a dwell period, thepatient repeats the manual dialysis procedure, for example, four timesper day, each treatment lasting about an hour. Manual peritonealdialysis requires a significant amount of time and effort from thepatient, leaving ample room for improvement.

Automated peritoneal dialysis (“APD”) is similar to CAPD in that thedialysis treatment includes drain, fill, and dwell cycles. APD machines,however, perform the cycles automatically, typically while the patientsleeps. APD machines free patients from having to manually perform thetreatment cycles and from having to transport supplies during the day.APD machines connect fluidly to an implanted catheter, to a source orbag of fresh dialysate and to a fluid drain. APD machines pump freshdialysate from a dialysate source, through the catheter, into thepatient's peritoneal cavity, and allow for the dialysate to dwell withinthe cavity and for the transfer of waste, toxins and excess water totake place. The source can be multiple sterile dialysate solution bags.

APD machines pump spent dialysate from the peritoneal cavity, though thecatheter, to the drain. As with the manual process, several drain, filland dwell cycles occur during dialysis. A “last fill” occurs at the endof APD, which remains in the peritoneal cavity of the patient until thenext treatment.

Regardless of the type of dialysis performed, the dialysis treatmentwill produce waste or effluent dialysis fluid, which is also referred toas drain fluid or “spent” dialysate. Spent dialysate can be sent tovarious places within the patient's home, such as the patient's bathtubor toilet. Alternatively, the effluent dialysate is sent to a drain bag.Both alternatives have disadvantages. Delivering spent dialysate to thepatient's bathtub or toilet can require that long runs of tubing, whichadds cost and can be a nuisance especially if the room in which therapyis performed is not close to a house drain. The drain areas of the housecan also carry a large bioburden, which can be detrimental to a patientwho is about to perform a sterile dialysis therapy. Drain bagscollecting an entire treatment's worth of spent fluid can become heavyand difficult to move, especially for elderly patients. Drain bags arealso disposable, adding to per therapy cost. The embodiments discussedherein attempt to address these disadvantages.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a reusable drain container, which iseasy to connect to, move and remove fluid from a medical fluid therapysystem, such as a dialysis system. The container is rigid or semi-rigid,which aids in its transport. The container is sized to hold an entiretherapy's worth of spent or effluent fluid. The container in oneembodiment includes a front side and a back side opposite the frontside. The container includes a top surface and a bottom surface. Thecontainer also includes two sides, forming a generally rectangularenclosure, although it is contemplated to make one or more of the sidesmore or less rounded. The container in various embodiments is made ofplastic, composites, aluminum and combinations thereof.

The container is operable with any type of dialysis treatment thatproduces waster or effluent dialysate, such as any type of peritonealdialysis treatment and any type of blood cleaning dialysis treatment. Inthe embodiments discussed below, the container is shown in connectionwith a peritoneal dialysis system, and in particular with an APD systemusing a weigh scale control of fluid fresh dialysate delivered to thepatient and spent dialysate and ultrafiltrate (“UF”) removed from thepatient. It should be appreciated however that many of the teachingsassociated with the drain container are applicable to any type ofdialysis treatment and to any type of dialysate and UF control.

With the weigh system, the container in one embodiment sits on a loadcell during treatment such that the front of the container pointsupwardly and the back of the container rests on the load cell. A spentfluid inlet and spent fluid outlet are both provided on the front of thecontainer, such that during treatment both the spent fluid inlet andspent fluid outlet point upwardly towards the dialysis instrument (whichis located above the drain container in one implementation). The spentfluid inlet is therefore readily accessed. The spent fluid inlet andoutlet are maintained elevationally above the drain fluid collected inthe drain container during therapy, preventing leakage of the effluentfluid from the inlet or outlet.

In one embodiment, the back of the container, which rests on the loadcell during treatment, includes a key feature, which mates with a keyfeature associated with the load cell. The mating key features preventthe patient from incorrectly loading the container onto the load cell,which can be important for proper operation of the load cell system. Themating key features also tend to hold the container in place whensubjected to inadvertent bumping or forces. The mating key featuresfurther tend to prevent misuse with a generic container or bucket.

The container in one embodiment includes wheels for transporting thecontainer from the dialysis instrument to a house drain, e.g., sink,toilet, shower, bathtub or floor drain. The load cell includes wheeltracks. When therapy is complete, the patient tilts the container suchthat the key feature of the container lifts free from the key feature ofthe load cell. The patient then rolls the container along the tracks offof the, e.g., slanted, load cell, onto the ground, and to the housedrain.

When the container is lifted from the load cell, it is tilted such thatthe top of the container, which includes a handle, points upwardly andis accessible. The spent fluid outlet, located towards the bottom of thecontainer on the front side of the container is positioned near theground.

The wheels can be connected directly to the container or to an assemblyto which the container is removeably attached. The wheel assembly canhave a telescoping handle, which the patient can pull away from thecontainer so that the patient does not have to bend over to pull thecontainer to the house drain. The telescoping handle can be provided inaddition to or in place of a handle formed integrally with thecontainer.

The container also includes a number of helpful features for the removalof effluent from the container to drain once the patient has wheeled thecontainer from the dialysis instrument to the house drain. For example,the container in one embodiment includes an indent or groove that holdsthe container in place on the rim of a toilet, or bathtub, which allowsfor hands free removal of a cap from the spent fluid outlet. Also, thecontainer includes a spout, which is exposed once the cap is removed.The spout directs effluent fluid from the container into the house drainin a smooth manner to reduce splashing and spilling. The spout isremovable from the container in one implementation for cleaningpurposes.

The container also includes features for viewing and sampling theeffluent or spent dialysate. For example, the front or top of thecontainer can have one or more window for viewing the drained liquidwithin the container. Alternatively, one or more of the spent fluidinlet or spent fluid outlet caps can be clear or transparent for viewingeffluent within the container. Still further, the container can besealed together from separate pieces, one or more of which is clear ortransparent for viewing the color and consistency of the effluent fluid.In any case, viewing effluent is important because a certain coloreffluent can indicate that the patient is on the verge of suffering fromperitonitis. To this end, it is contemplated to provide printed textand/or colored surfaces, which aid the patient in determining if theeffluent is cloudy (onset of peritonitis).

The container in one embodiment also includes a sample reservoir, whichautomatically fills with fluid, and which can be removed from thecontainer, so that the patient can take the sample to a dialysis centeror other qualified facility for analysis. The reservoir in oneembodiment traps the fluid sample and allows it to be removed from thecontainer without having to pour out a sample.

It is also contemplated to size one of the inlet and outlet caps so asto hold an appropriate amount of a cleanser, e.g., bleach, which is usedto clean and disinfect the container after a number of uses. Forexample, the spent fluid outlet cap can be sized for such use, while thespent fluid inlet cap is provided with a tubing port configured toaccept and seal to a drain tube running from the dialysis instrument tothe container.

It is therefore an advantage of the present disclosure to provide areusable medical fluid drain container.

It is another advantage of the present disclosure to provide a draincontainer that is transported readily from the dialysis instrument to ahouse drain, reducing the amount of tubing needed to run directly fromthe instrument to the house drain.

It is a further advantage of the present disclosure to provide adraining system, which provides a ready apparatus for taking effluentsamples.

It is yet another advantage of the present disclosure to provide adialysis drain container, which provides a ready apparatus for viewingeffluent dialysate to detect onset of peritonitis.

Additional features and advantages are described herein, and will beapparent from, the following Detailed Description and the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a medical fluid delivery systemoperating with one embodiment of the drain container of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a drain container ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the drain container of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the drain container of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the drain container of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of one embodiment of an inlet cap useablewith the drain container of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the inlet cap of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a sectioned elevation view taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG.7.

FIG. 9 is a sectioned elevation view taken at detail IX of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a spout useable withthe drain container of FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a sample reservoiruseable with the drain container of FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is a sectioned elevation view of the sample reservoir of FIG.11.

FIG. 13 is a sectioned elevation view of one embodiment of a tube stopuseable with the drain container of FIG. 1.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a drain containerof the present disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a sample reservoiruseable with the drain container of FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of a draincontainer of the present disclosure having a further alternative fluidreservoir.

FIG. 17 is a side view of a telescoping wheel assembly useable with anyof the drain containers discussed herein.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a load cell useablewith any of the drain containers discussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, system 10illustrates a medical fluid system, such as a dialysis system, that canuse the various drain containers discussed herein. While the draincontainers can be used with other types of medical fluid treatments,dialysis and in particular peritoneal dialysis provides one particularlywell suited application. System 10 in the illustrated embodiment is anautomated peritoneal dialysis (“APD”) system. Various techniques havebeen developed to monitor the amount of dialys ate delivered and removedfrom the patient as well as amount of the patient's body fluid orultrafiltrate, which is also removed from the patient undergoing APD. Inthe illustrated embodiment, system 10 operates with a load cell 12. Theload cell is discussed in more detail below in connection with FIG. 18.It should be appreciated however that the drain containers discussedherein can operate with APD systems having volumetric control systemsother than load cells. Further, the drain containers discussed hereincan operate with other types of peritoneal dialysis than APD, such ascontinuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (“CAPD”), which is generallyconsidered to be a manual form of PD.

System 10 also includes an instrument 20, which includes a control panel22 allowing the operator or patient to set, begin and monitor treatment.Instrument 20 also includes valve and pump actuators that operate withdisposable fluid tubes to distribute medical fluid, such as dialysate toa desired destination. Instrument 20 in one embodiment operates withpinch valves that pinch various parts of a tubing set to control theflow of fresh and spent dialysate to a desired destination.Alternatively, instrument 20 operates a disposable cassette, which caninclude cassette sheating that is selectively closed against or openedfrom rigid valves at various places to produce a desired valve state.Instrument 20 can include a plurality of pumps for pumping dialysisfluid to and from a patient or dialyzer.

In the illustrated embodiment, the instrument uses a pump or gravity tofeed fresh fluid from a supply bag 14 to the patient through a patientline 16 and uses a pump or gravity to feed spent or effluent fluid fromthe patient to a drain container 50 via a pump (not illustrated) locatedwithin instrument 20 via a drain line 18. Supply bags 14 are located ona heater 30, which can be a resistive heater. Heater 30 heats dialysateto a desirable temperature for treatment, such as 37° C. Fluid flowsfrom supply bags 14 and heater 30 via a pump or gravity through a supplyline 24 from each supply bag 14 to instrument 20. When certain one ormore valve is open, the heated fluid from supply line 24 flows throughthe disposable including patient line 16 to the patient.

As discussed above, the amount of effluent fluid flowing from thepatient to drain container 50 through drain line 18 is weighed at loadcell 12. That weight can be compared against a known weight of supplybags 14 to determine an amount of ultrafiltrate (“UF”) that has beenremoved from the patient. Alternatively, instrument 20 can include aweigh scale that weighs the amount of fresh fluid contained in supplybags 14. Here, a controller within instrument 20 subtracts the beginningweight of fluid in supply bags 14 from the weight of fluid collected incontainer 50 to determine the amount of UF removed from the patient.

System 10 also includes a stand 26, which is connected to a wheeled base28, which allows system 10 to be moved within the patient's house orwithin a center or hospital. One system and method for operating system10 is discussed in copending patent applications entitled: “AutomatedDialysis System Driven By Gravity And Vacuum”, filed May 26, 2006, Ser.No. 11/420,608, the entire contents of which are incorporated hereinexpressly by reference and relied upon.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 to 5, container 50 a illustrates one embodimentof a drain container of the present disclosure. Container 50 a includesa front side 52, rear side 54, top surface 56 and bottom surface 58. InFIG. 1, container 50 is shown such that its front surface 52 pointsupwardly towards dialysis instrument 20. This configuration isadvantageous because the drain fluid inlet and drain fluid outlet areprovided on front surface 52 and are accordingly pointed towardsdialysis instrument 20 and located elevationally above the drain fluidas the fluid fills within container 50 during operation. As shown below,when it is time to roll drain container 50 to a place to remove fluidfrom the container, the container is tilted such that top surface 56points upwardly, and so that the patient can grab a handle 60 located attop surface 56. In one embodiment, drain container 50 a is plastic, suchas polypropylene (“PP”), high density polyethylene (“HDPE”), low densityPolyethylene (“LDPE”), polycarbonate (“PC”), glycol-modifiedpolyethylene terephthalate (“PET-G”), polyvinyl chloride (“PVC”); acomposite material; aluminum and combinations thereof. Drain container50 a in one embodiment has a wall thickness, which is generally uniform,and which can be from about 1 mm to about 7 mm, e.g., 4 mm Container 50a defines an internal volume that is sized for the particular medicalfluid application. For dialysis treatment, such as peritoneal dialysistreatment, container 50 a is sized to hold an entire treatment's worthof drain fluid. Container 52 a can therefore be configured to hold fromabout five to about forty liters, e.g., eighteen liters, of effluentfluid.

As discussed above, front surface 52 of container 50 a includes ordefines a spent fluid inlet 62 and a spent fluid outlet 64. Inlet 62 andoutlet 64 in one embodiment are threaded ports that matingly receivethreaded caps as discussed in detail below. Spent fluid outlet 64 islocated near bottom surface 58, so that when the patient or caregiverpulls drain container 50 a to a toilet, tub or house drain, outlet 64will be located elevationally below handle 60, so that the patient orcaregiver can readily drain effluent fluid from drain container 50 a.Spent fluid inlet 62 is located closer to top 56 of container 50 a, suchthat when the patient or caregiver tilts drain container 50 a usinghandle 60, inlet 62 is likewise raised elevationally, allowing thepatient to more readily remove drain line 18 from the inlet cap (shownbelow). The patient or caregiver can thereafter pull drain container 50a to a house drain.

As seen in FIGS. 2 and 5, bottom 58 of drain container 50 a includes ordefines a slot or groove 66, which is sized and shaped to snap-fit overan axle of a wheel assembly. One suitable wheel assembly is discussedbelow in connection with FIG. 17. FIGS. 2 and 5 also illustrate thatside surfaces 92 of drain container 50 a include or define grooves orslots 94 that mate with a frame of the wheeled assembly, such as theassembly shown below in connection with FIG. 17. In one embodiment draincontainer 50 a is removable from the wheel assembly via snap-fittingslot or groove 66. Although not illustrated, bottom 58 of draincontainer 50 a in one embodiment also includes apparatus configured tohold the drain container in place when the drain container is placed ona toilet or bathtub to drain from outlet 64 to the toilet or bathtub.

FIGS. 2 and 4 also show that rear surface 54 includes or defines anindented or female key structure 68. Indented key structure 50 is sizedand configured to mate with a corresponding projecting or male keystructure on the load cell when drain container 50 a is placed inposition for treatment. The keyed interfaced between drain container 50a and load cell is discussed in detail below in connection with FIG. 18.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 to 9, cap 70 illustrates one embodiment of aspent fluid inlet cap, which is suitable for use with container 50 a ofFIGS. 2 to 5. Inlet cap 70 can be made of certain of the materialsspecified above for drain container 50 a, such as, PC, PET-G, PVC andpolycarbonate polyester blend, which can each be clear for cap 70, whichis clear in one embodiment. Cap 70 can have a nominal wall thickness ofabout 1 mm to about 7 mm, e.g., about 4 mm. Cap 70 in an embodiment issized to thread onto spent fluid inlet 62 of drain container 50 a, asseen best in FIGS. 3 and 5. While cap 70 is shown being configured tomate with inlet 62 via a threaded relationship, it should be appreciatedthat cap 70 could fit sealingly to inlet 62 via a snap-fitting and/orhinged manner.

FIG. 8 illustrates cap 70 having internal threads 72 that mate withexternal threads of inlet 62 of drain container 50 a. Cap 70 furtherdefines a drain tube opening 74. As seen most clearly in FIGS. 8 and 9,drain tube opening 74 tapers at flared annular wall 76 to form a draintube 18 accepting area. Flared annular wall 76 extends inward to a port78, which includes inner and outer cylindrical extensions 78 a and 78 b,respectively. Drain line 18 is inserted into the inlet cap 70 throughsplices 78 c, through extension 78 b and then into the tube stop 110shown in FIG. 13, which is fitted to outer cylindrical extensions 78.The inner diameter (e.g., 18 mm−2*thickness of wall 114) of tube stoplarger diameter portion 114 is solvent bonded or otherwise adhered tothe outside of outer cylindrical extensions 78 a (e.g., 15.6 mm OD).After passing through splices 78 c and extension 78 b, the tubing sealsagainst the inner diameter of smaller diameter portion 112 of the tubestop 110 of FIG. 13 and bottoms out against cap 116 of tube stop 110.

Referring now to FIG. 10, spout 80 illustrates one suitable spout foroperation with drain container 50 a. Spout 80 can be made of any of thematerial specified above for drain container 80. Spout 80 can have anominal wall thickness of about 2 mm to about 7 mm. In the presentembodiment, spout 80 is configured to fit sealingly into outlet 64 ofdrain container 50 a. Spout 80 includes a basin portion 82, which issized to collect any effluent that may spill out of a funnel portion 84during the effluent fluid removal process. Basin 82 also defines anopening 86, which allows air to enter drain container 50 a whileeffluent fluid is poured smoothly out of funnel 84 of spout 80.

Basin 82 extends upward to a rim 88, which has a larger diameter thanbasin 82. Rim 88 is sized to press-fit to an inner wall of spent fluidoutlet 64 of drain container 50 a in such a manner that outwardlyextending threads of spent fluid outlet 64 (in one embodiment) are leftfree to be threaded to an outlet cap, which is inserted over spout. Rim80 includes or defines one or more locking aperture or projection 90,which locks to a mating projection or aperture, respectively, of theinlet wall of spent fluid outlet 64 when spout 80 is press-fit to draincontainer 50 a. Projection or aperture 90 locks spout 80 in place withdrain container 50 a and prevents spout 80 from being pushed into thedrain fluid collecting chamber of container 50 a.

It should be appreciated that spout 80 can be formed integrally withcontainer 50 a in an alternative embodiment. For purposes of cleaningreusable drain container 50 a, however, it may be desirable to providespout 80 a separate piece, as illustrated, which can be cleanedseparately, and which allows spent fluid outlet 64 to have a largerdiameter, so that debris within container 50 a can be readily flushedout from within the container.

Referring now to FIGS. 11 and 12, reservoir 100 illustrates one suitablereservoir for use with drain container 50 a. Reservoir 100 allows thepatient or caregiver to remove a sample of the drained or spent fluid,e.g., spent dialysate, in a clean and efficient manner. In certainmedical therapies, such as dialysis, it is necessary that the patient orcaregiver take a sample of the spent fluid from the patient to ahospital or laboratory for analysis. The spent fluid tells the hospitalmany important things, such as the effectiveness of the patient'streatment, the effectiveness in removing different or certain impuritiescontained within the effluent, and whether the patient is at risk forany of a variety of infections, such as peritonitis common in dialysis.

Reservoir 100 can be made of any of the materials discussed above forcontainer 50 a. In an embodiment reservoir 100 has a nominal thicknessof about 1 mm to about 7 mm, e.g., 4 mm Reservoir 100 in one embodimentis made of a clear material, such as those above for inlet cap 70, sothat the patient or caregiver can view the effluent fluid when reservoir100 is removed from the drain container. It is known for dialysis thatcloudy effluent can indicate the onset of peritonitis. Alternatively oradditionally, it is contemplated to make part of drain container 50 aclear or transparent, so that the patient can see the effluent withindrain container 50 a. For example, drain container 50 a could be gluedor welded together from two or more pieces, wherein one or more of thepieces (e.g., front surface 52) is clear or transparent. Foralternatively or additionally, one of the inlet and outlet caps can beclear or transparent.

Reservoir 100 includes a fluid holding portion 102, a fluid entryportion 104 and a container mating portion 106. Fluid holding portion102 is sized to hold a sufficient sample volume for the patient to taketo a hospital or clinic. Fluid entry portion 104 tapers outwardly fromfluid holding portion 102. Fluid entry portion 104 defines a pluralityof entry holes 108 that allow effluent fluid that enters drain container50 a to flow into and be held by fluid holding portion 102.

Portions 102, 104 and 106 are generally cylindrical as illustrated.Different cross-sectional shapes could be provided alternatively.Container mounting portion 106 is sized to fit sealingly on frontsurface 52 of container 50 a, for example. Placing reservoir 100 onfront surface 52 allows reservoir 100 to extend downwardly into thecontainer and become filled when the effluent fluid rises close to frontsurface 52 (which is the upper surface during treatment) of draincontainer 50 a. Accordingly, container mounting portion 106 isconfigured to extend a distance sufficient to set fluid holding portion102 down into the container, so that the container does not have to becompletely full for effluent fluid to begin to flow into apertures 108of reservoir 100. Apertures 108 are overflow slots that allow effluentto spill into reservoir 100 throughout therapy.

Referring now to FIG. 13, tube stop 110 illustrates one suitable tubestop for container 50 a. Tube stop 110 can be made of any of thematerials discussed above for container 50 a. Tube stop 110 can have anominal thickness of about 1 mm to about 6 mm, e.g., 4 mm. Tube stop 110includes a smaller diameter portion 112, which flanges out to a largerdiameter portion 114. Smaller diameter portion 112 is capped at tubestop end 116. As discussed above, drain tube 18 seals to the inside ofsmaller diameter portion 112 and abuts tube stop end 116 when insertedinto cap 70 and tube stop 110. Larger diameter portion 114 is solventbonded or otherwise connected to outer projection 78 a of cap 70. Tubestop 110 is illustrated as being generally cylindrical, however, thetube stop can have different cross-sectional shapes as desired.

Referring now to FIGS. 14 and 15, drain container 50 b illustrates onealternative drain container of the present disclosure. Drain container50 b includes many of the same components as drain container 50 a, suchas a front surface 152, a rear surface (not seen in FIG. 14) a topsurface 156, a bottom surface 158 and side surfaces 192. Top surface 156includes a handle 160, which in both embodiments 50 a and 50 b islocated closer to the front surface (52/152) of the respectivecontainer. Handles 60 and 160 are sized for one-handed operation in oneembodiment.

Bottom surface 158 of container 50 b includes a snap-fitting groove (notseen), which snap-fits to an axel 202 of a wheel assembly 200 shown inFIG. 14 and in further detail in FIG. 17. As further seen in FIG. 14,assembly 200 includes frame members 206 that connect to axle 202 ofwheel assembly 200 and slide into grooves at the sides of container,such as grooves 94 at sides 92 of container 50 a. Although not seen inFIG. 14, sides 192 of container 50 b include or define similar groovesor slots that are configured to accept members 206 of frame 200.

Drain container 50 b also includes an effluent fluid outlet 164, whichis shown capped via a cap, which too can be clear for viewing effluentfluid. Drain container 50 b also includes a drain fluid inlet, which inone embodiment is a drain fluid port 128 located on removable reservoir120 of FIG. 15.

One difference between drain container 50 b and drain container 50 a isthe provision of a transparent or clear effluent viewing window 166located on the front surface 152 of container 50 b. Effluent viewingwindow 166 allows the patient or caregiver to view the effluent fluid tosee if it is cloudy or clear, cloudy indicating possible onset ofperitonitis. It should be appreciated that viewing window 166 can belocated in other suitable areas on container 50 b.

Container 50 b also includes an alternative sample reservoir 120, whichis connected removably and sealably to front surface 152 of container 50b. Alternative reservoir 120 is shown in detail in FIG. 15. As seen inFIG. 15, alternative reservoir 120 includes a straight cylinder 122,which defines a single inlet hole 124. Here again, inlet hole 124extends a suitable distance down into container 50 b from front surface152 when mounted into container 50 b, as described above for draincontainer 100. A tube stop end 126 is sealed permanently or removably(e.g., via threads) to cylindrical housing 122. Tube stop end 126 issized to fit sealingly into an opening on front surface 152 of container50 b. Cap 126 includes a drain tube port 128, which is sized to allowdrain tube 18 to fit sealingly through the port.

Referring now to FIG. 16, drain container 50 c illustrates anotheralternative drain container of the present disclosure. Container 50 cincludes many of the same features as containers 50 a and 50 b, such asa front surface 252, a rear surface (not seen in FIG. 16), a top surface256 defining a handle 260 at front surface 252, a bottom surface 258 andsidewalls 292. Drain container 50 c also includes a drain fluid inlet262 and a drain fluid outlet 264.

The primary difference between drain container 50 c and the othercontainers is that drain container 50 c includes a larger removablereservoir 210, which in the illustrated embodiment has generally aT-shape. In the illustrated embodiment, reservoir 210 is mounted into amating channel 212 defined in front surface 252 and in a small portionof side surfaces 292. Reservoir 210 includes drain fluid inlet 262, suchthat drained fluid from drain tube 18 initially enters reservoir 210 andflow from the reservoir via port 214 of drain container 50 c through asealingly mating hole or aperture 216 formed in channel 212 of frontsurface 252 of container 50 c. Reservoir 210 also includes a viewingwindow 218 (Alternatively all or some of the surface of reservoir 210 isformed of a clear or transparent material). Viewing window 218 allowsthe patient or caregiver to view effluent fluid immediately as it entersreservoir 210 during treatment and also allows the patient or caregiverto view the condition of the effluent that has mixed over the course oftreatment, which eventually fills up within drain container 50 c to thepoint that effluent fluid flows upward through port 214 into reservoir210. Reservoir 210 in the operable orientation shown collects a samplethat is a mixture of each of the drains of the patient's therapy. In oneembodiment, reservoir 210 is removed at the end of therapy for cleaning.

It should appreciated that concepts described in connection withreservoir 210 and drain container 50 c are not limited to the particularshape of reservoir 210 shown in FIG. 16. In a further alternativeimplementation, inlet 262 is provided elsewhere on front surface 252 orother surface of drain container 50 c.

Referring now to FIG. 17, wheel assembly 200 discussed above inconnection with container 50 b of FIG. 14 is illustrated in more detail.As described above, assembly 200 includes a pair of wheels 204 attachedrotatably to an axle 202, which is in turn coupled to sides members orshafts 206. In FIG. 17, shafts 206 are larger diameter shafts thataccept legs of a U-shaped telescoping handle 208. The legs have asmaller diameter that fits moveably within shafts 206. Handle 208 canhave a button that is pressed to allow the legs of the handle tosnap-fit into a retracted or extended position as desired. Handle 208makes moving any of drain containers 50 (referring collectively tocontainers 50 a to 50 c) easier because the patient or caregiver canwalk more upright during such movement. Telescoping handle 208 canreplace or be provided in addition to the handles located integrally ondrain containers 50. The drain container handles help to load and unloadthe drain containers from wheel assembly 200 and to maneuver the draincontainer once removed.

Referring now to FIG. 18, load cell assembly 230 illustrates onesuitable load cell for use with any of the drain containers 50 discussedherein. Assembly 230 includes a platform 232 that surrounds a load cell234, which floats within a cutout 236 of platform 232. Platform 232further includes or defines wheel tracks 238, which are sized in widthto accept wheels 204 of wheel assembly 200. Tracks 238 each include anindent or stop 240, which is configured to grab and hold wheels 204 ofassembly 200 for and during therapy and in turn hold drain container 50,which is coupled to assembly 200.

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment in which load cell 12 is placed abovewheeled base 28. Load cell assembly 230 of FIG. 18 illustrates analternative embodiment in which assembly 230 itself rests on the ground.Assembly 230 accordingly includes wheels 242, which connect to an axle244, which in turn is coupled rotatably to platform 232 of load cellassembly 230. In this manner, the patient can roll assembly 230 with ourwithout drain container 50 when the patient needs to move the entiremedical fluid treatment system 10.

When the patient wishes to remove drain container 50 from load cellassembly 230, the patient rotates wheel assembly 200 and likewiserotates drain container 50 off of assembly 230, so that the femalekeying feature (e.g., feature 68 of container 50 a) of drain container50 is lifted off of a mating male keying feature 246 formed in the plateof load cell 232. The patient or caregiver then pulls wheels 204 ofassembly 200 out of indents 240 of track 238 and rolls drain container50 and associated wheel assembly 200 down tracks 238, off of a taperedfront edge 248 of platform 232 and to the desired drain area of thepatient's house, clinic or center as the case may be.

In the illustrated embodiment, the load cell keying feature 246 israised from load cell 234 to mate with a female or recessed matingkeying feature (e.g., feature 68 of container 50 a) of the draincontainer. Alternatively, the keying feature on load cell 234 isindented or female in nature, while the mating keying feature of thedrain container is a projected or male type keying feature.

Platform 232 of load cell assembly 230 is made of relatively rugged anddurable material, such as a polycarbonate, acrylonitrile butadienestyrene (“ABS”) or a combination thereof. Load cell 234 in oneembodiment includes a metal plate, attached to strain gauge apparatus,which is known in the art. Load cell 234 mates with projected surface 69(see FIGS. 2, 4 and 5) of container 50 a (or other like surface of othercontainers herein). Projected surface 69 allows load cell 234 to measurethe full weight of container 50 a. Electronics of instrument 20 areprogrammed to know the dry weight of container 50 to determine theabsolute weight of effluent and/or to subtract the weight of container50 at the beginning of treatment from the weight of container andeffluent at the end of treatment to determine the total weight ofeffluent collected.

It should be understood that various changes and modifications to thepresently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent tothose skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present subjectmatter and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is thereforeintended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appendedclaims.

The invention is claimed as follows:
 1. A dialysis system comprising: asource of effluent dialysis fluid; a drain container configured toreceive the effluent dialysis fluid through a drain tube, the draincontainer including an at least semi-rigid body defining a first keyfeature; and a load cell, the load cell including a second, mating keyfeature positioned and arranged to mate with the first key feature. 2.The dialysis system of claim 1, wherein the load cell is positioned andarranged above a wheeled base.
 3. The dialysis system of claim 1,wherein one of the first key feature and the second key feature is arecessed key feature and the other of the first key feature and thesecond key feature is a projected key feature.
 4. The dialysis system ofclaim 1, wherein the load cell includes a metal plate attached to astrain gauge.
 5. The dialysis system of claim 1, further including aload cell assembly attached to the load cell, the load cell assemblypositioned and arranged to removably attach to the drain container. 6.The dialysis system of claim 5, wherein the drain container includes atleast one wheel, and wherein the load cell assembly includes at leastone wheel track sized to accept the at least one wheel of the draincontainer.
 7. The dialysis system of claim 6, wherein the at least onewheel is removably attached to the drain container.
 8. The dialysissystem of claim 6, wherein the at least one wheel track includes anindent or stop configured to grab and hold the at least one wheel of thedrain container.
 9. The dialysis system of claim 5, wherein the loadcell assembly includes at least one wheel, the load cell assemblyconfigured to roll on the at least one wheel with or without the draincontainer attached.
 10. The dialysis system of claim 5, wherein at leastone of the drain container and the load cell assembly includes atelescoping handle.
 11. The dialysis system of claim 1, wherein thedrain container includes a projected surface allowing the load cell tomeasure the full weight of the drain container.
 12. The dialysis systemof claim 1, further including electronics programmed to determine thetotal weight of effluent dialysis fluid received by the drain containerusing at least one of: (i) a dry weight of the drain container; (ii) aweight of the effluent dialysis fluid and the drain container at thebeginning of a therapy; and (iii) a weight of the effluent dialysisfluid and the drain container at the end of the therapy.
 13. A dialysistreatment method comprising: positioning an at least semi-rigid draincontainer on a load cell by mating a first key feature of the draincontainer with a second, mating key feature of the load cell; drainingeffluent dialysis fluid into the drain container; calculating a weightof the effluent dialysis fluid drained into the drain container usingthe load cell; removing the drain container from the load cell; andwheeling the drain container to a disposal site to dispose of theeffluent dialysis fluid.
 14. The dialysis treatment method of claim 13,further including wheeling the drain container onto a load cell assemblyattached to the load cell.
 15. The dialysis treatment method of claim13, wherein positioning the drain container on the load cell includespositioning at least one of the first key feature and the second keyfeature on a projected surface of at least one of the drain containerand the load cell.
 16. The dialysis treatment method of claim 13,wherein wheeling the drain container to the disposal site includeswheeling the drain container away from the load cell.
 17. The dialysistreatment method of claim 13, wherein wheeling the drain container tothe disposal site includes wheeling the drain container and the loadcell to the disposal site.
 18. The dialysis treatment method of claim13, wherein removing the drain container from the load cell includestilting the drain container so that the first key feature lifts freefrom the second key feature.
 19. A dialysis treatment method comprising:draining effluent dialysis fluid into an at least semi-rigid draincontainer; structuring a dialysis instrument and the drain container sothat the drain container can be repeatedly disconnected from andconnected to the dialysis instrument; and enabling the drain containerto be wheeled to and from the dialysis instrument for disposal of theeffluent dialysis fluid.
 20. The dialysis treatment method of claim 19,further including (i) disconnecting the drain container from and (ii)connecting the drain container to the dialysis instrument by (i)removing the drain container from and (ii) placing the drain containeronto a load cell, respectively.
 21. The dialysis treatment method ofclaim 20, wherein connecting the drain container to the dialysisinstrument includes mating a first key feature of the drain containerwith a second key feature of the load cell.
 22. The dialysis treatmentmethod of claim 19, wherein enabling the drain container to be wheeledto and from the dialysis instrument includes enabling the draincontainer to be removed from and attached to a wheeled assembly.